Standard television viewing has been a staple of home entertainment for many decades. With standard television viewing, a user tunes into a broadcast program and views the program content at the scheduled broadcast time. For about the last decade; however, advanced television services such as interactive television and video-on-demand (VOD) television have been predicted to become commonplace. Unfortunately, the reality of available television services has thus far fallen well below the capabilities that have been forecasted.
Of the many predicted advanced televisions services, on-demand television is starting to be offered, at least in accordance with relatively simplistic paradigms. For example, recently-released movies along with a limited assortment of other programming content can be selectively accessed on an individualized content basis. Interactive television, on the other hand, remains largely an unrealized dream. Television users can, for instance, request that specific news and weather information be presented on their television screens. In short, the passive viewing of traditional broadcast programs remains the primary form of television entertainment.